All posts tagged: muralist

Muralist Wyland Files  M. VARA Lawsuit Over Mural Destroyed by FIFA

Muralist Wyland Files $25 M. VARA Lawsuit Over Mural Destroyed by FIFA

When soccer fans converge on Dallas this month for World Cup games, the aesthetically inclined ones will encounter a city home to art museums, galleries, and public art. And yet, the city will be missing a major and longstanding public artwork, after conservationist artist’s beloved mural was painted over in May. Florida-based artist Robert Wyland has filed a $25 million federal lawsuit against FIFA and the owners of the building where his mural had appeared for a quarter-century, who, he says, painted over Ocean Life (1999), one of a hundred murals he painted around the world to raise consciousness about marine pollution and conservation efforts. The eight-story-high, 17,000-square-foot mural showed endangered humpback whales and dolphins and other marine life.  Related Articles The suit, filed on June 1 in the District Court’s Dallas division, claims that the destruction of the mural, designated as Whaling Wall 82, violates the artist’s rights under the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA). It names as defendants FIFA, the Canadian company Slate Asset Management, which owns the building at 505 N …

Mr. Wash interviews Compton muralist Mel Depaz in “Artists in Space”

Mr. Wash interviews Compton muralist Mel Depaz in “Artists in Space”

As a muralist, Mel Depaz is a storyteller. But when you look at her work overall, it’s clear how much her surroundings influence what she puts down with her brush. She’s all about community. Mel’s paintings are about Compton and the elements that make up the city. I think that her work is very important because it allows the people who live here to have a visual of their community. For example, her mural featuring the Compton Cowboys. When you come through the city, you don’t really just see people riding horses around at all times of day. Then Mel’s work makes you wonder: Where are they at? How do I get close? Her work is inviting the public to take a closer look. I met Mel at her family home on the east side of Compton, before we took a short drive to see her murals. Like her large-scale work, Mel’s paintings told the story of our shared city. Mr. Wash: All of your work and your whole practice is in the outside space. …